Gathering Chinese and Korean experts and local government officials working in the field of green building, the China-Korea Green Building Forum jointly organized by ICLEI East Asia Secretariat (EAS), Green Technology Center-Korea (GTCK) and Chinese Society of Urban Studies (CSUS) on 31 March at China National Convention Center in Beijing, provided a platform for exchanging knowledge and experience in implementing green building projects in the two countries.

Dr. Guichan Tong, Director of International Cooperation Division at the Department of Building Energy and Science & Technology of China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Development attended the meeting upon invitation. She recognized ICLEI’s work in her congratulatory speech and expressed her wishes for deeper cooperation between the two countries on green building and sustainable development.

During the forum, experts from the two countries introduced the policy, legal framework, implementation strategies and technologies related to green building. Chang-U Chae, Head of national Green Building Center of Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology provided an overview of Korea’s development in green building, in terms of master planning, strategies and measures, development of zero-carbon houses and investment. Based on cost-benefit analysis and projected results, he believes that green building would satisfy the economic, social and environmental needs of societies in the long run.

Congxiao Li, Vice President of China Green Building Council (CGBC), introduced China’s development in green building and highlighted the aspects on green building grading system, standards and regulations on construction materials, policy and management system, research and development. With the directions of the 13th five-year plan, he believes that there are many opportunities of developing green building in the country.

Representatives from Shenzhen City, Tianjin Eco-city and Korea’s Sejeong City also presented their experience in implementing green building at the local level. Jiangqiang Qi, General Manager at Tianjin Eco-city Green Building Research Institute introduced how the setting of key performance indicators and related standards led the development of the eco-city, and how various mechanisms, technologies helped optimized the implementation of green buildings in the area.

Chan Kyu Song from Sejeong City’s Office of Education introduced the case of Dodam primary school in Sejong City, where new energy and renewables are used to generate power. Junyue Liu, Senior Engineer at Shenzhen Institute of Building Research co. Ltd introduced Shenzhen’s policy and standard on green building through a number of best practices including KK100(Kingkey Financial Center), Shenzhen green industrial park, Shenzhen Bay Tech-Eco Park and Qianhai Free Trade Zone. He also suggested that standard setting, smart system development and big data would play important roles in the future of green building development by enabling systematic assessment and evaluation. Youngsun Kim, Senior Researcher at GTCK shared the center’s experience in supporting Mongolia to construct a green education building over a process planning, operation, maintenance and performance evaluation.

Following the city presentations, Hyun Woo Shin, Senior Research Director at GTCK chaired the panel discussion where experts from the two countries exchanged their insights on green building.

The China-Korea Green Building Forum was held as part of the 12th International Conference on Green and Energy-efficient Building & New Technologies and Products Expo. Organized by the Chinese Society of Urban Studies (CSUS), China Green Building Council (CGBC) and China Eco-city Research Committee, the conference is the largest and most influential conference and expo in the field of green and energy-efficient building in China.